Germany's president asked for forgiveness for his country on Sunday (1 September) for the suffering of the Polish people during World War Two as Poland marked 80 years since the Nazi German invasion that unleashed the deadliest conflict in human history.

In an exclusive interview, the long-serving Russian ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov provided insight on his country’s position on the Azov Sea situation, which led to the cancelling of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Argentina.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan showed a more conciliatory tone on a hugely sensitive visit to Germany but both sides still have daunting task ahead to rebuild relations and trust battered by a succession of disputes.

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday (25 November) welcomed the prospect of talks on a "grand coalition" with her Social Democrat (SPD) rivals and defended the record of the previous such government, saying it had worked well.

The leader of Germany's Social Democrats came under growing pressure yesterday (23 November) to drop his opposition to a new "grand coalition" with Angela Merkel's conservatives, with senior politicians arguing the party had a duty to promote stability.

Germany's failed coalition talks are hurting Europe's reform agenda so Brussels and EU capitals should lean on the country's political leaders to find an agreement and avoid another election, Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer, who took part in the talks, said on Thursday (23 November).

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen urged European voters to follow the example of Americans and the British and "wake up" in 2017, at a meeting of far-right leaders aiming to oust established parties in elections this year.

French President François Hollande and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker sent the German people their sympathies after a truck plowed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin yesterday evening (19 December) killing 12 people in what police this morning described as "an attack".

Austrian voters have resoundingly rejected anti-immigration and eurosceptic Norbert Hofer's bid to become the European Union's first far-right president, a result greeted with relief from centrist politicians across the continent.

Germany's foreign minister called on Ukraine and Russia to "show responsibility" and agree on a roadmap in four-way talks on Tuesday (29 November) on how to implement last year's ceasefire accord for eastern Ukraine, but dampened hopes for a breakthrough.

Martin Schulz, a one-time football player feared for his defensive tackles, made up his mind in the last week of November to leave the European Parliament’s helm, considering it the right time to fight for the leadership of his party, and Germany.

Martin Schulz will announce this morning (24 November) that he is giving up his bid to serve another term as European Parliament president and will instead campaign for a seat in the German Bundestag in next year's elections.

Turkey is "fed up" with European Union condescension in talks over its application to join the bloc, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said yesterday (15 November), reflecting Ankara's exasperation with EU criticism over human rights.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) have agreed to back Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, as the ruling coalition's candidate to replace Joachim Gauck as president next year, a conservative source said.

The European Union is extremely worried by Turkey's arrest of Kurdish opposition lawmakers and has called a meeting of EU national envoys in Ankara, its foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Friday (4 November).

EU foreign affairs ministers yesterday (17 October) condemned Russia's air campaign in Syria, saying it may be guilty of war crimes, and it vowed to impose more sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Russia's role in Syria has led to calls for more sanctions against Moscow, but the deadline for deciding whether to renew the current raft of punitive measures is fast approaching. There are powerful figures on both side of the argument. EURACTIV's partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.